Creative Component - The Redesign

In our fourth podcast in the re-design series, I had the great opportunity to speak with Henning Fischer, a design strategist for Adaptive Path, whose principal focus is on design research and strategy development.

Grab the MP3 File | duration 29:24

During the interview, I asked the question: “Should small businesses have mission statements too?”

Henning responded:

“I don’t believe that any business has ever really suffered terribly from having a mission statement. They are incredibly good tools for an organization to help people focus on what they want to put out into the world — whether it’s products or services.

A good mission statement describes not only what you’re going to do, but the way that you’re going to do it. The way you’re going to do it is the key thing that any organization can benefit from. That in many ways is the essence of strategy. — The style that you’re going to do something is inherently different than the way anyone else is going to do it.

Mission Statements are tricky things to develop, but a tool that we like to use is something called The Elevator Pitch. It was developed by Geoffrey Moore and found in his book Crossing the Chasm. It’s a kind-of a fill-in-the-blanks way of putting together what the essence of your offering is to folks. It’s a very short statement that really gets to the heart of the matter.”

Every organization and every human being struggles with sticking to what it is they say they’re going to do.

To this point, Henning adds:

“A mission statement might be as easy as I’m going to lose five pounds. And that never happens. Mission statements are often-times easily tossed-off as this is what we’re going to do, and as long as we say it, it’s going to be a reality. A mission statement is a hard thing to execute-upon, and you need to be realistic about implementing one. If you’re not going to hold yourself to a mission statement, then what’s the worth of really having one? Not living-up to your mission is almost more harmful than not even having one in some ways.”

Based on the advice I’ve heard from speaking with Henning, I’m in the process of developing the Creative Component mission statement.

So what’s your elevator pitch?

• Do small companies need mission statement too?
• How do I create a mission statement for my company?
• What are the differences between a Mission, Vision and Value statement?
• Should a mission statement be specific, or simply a 30,000 foot view?

Show listener Anonymous asks this question about living-up to a mission statement:

“I’ve worked at many organizations that had mission statements straight out of Dilbert, and don’t live the values they espouse, they’re just words on paper that have zero impact on action. Why does this lack of vision-transfer happen from the C-suite down? How can you get companies to wake up in middle management and start walking the talk?”

On the topic of Web Design & Development…

• Why is scope important, or even necessary?
• How do you determine Project Scope?
• In terms of the visitors of a website, it’s probably best to know your audience?
• On planning, what about setting objectives? Does this come from asking the hard-hitting questions?

Listener Elbowroom Design in Calgary, Alberta asks this question:

“Sometimes we get great ideas for a website once we’re halfway into the development project. By that point, it’s not called a good idea, it’s just something that gets in the way of meeting deadlines and budgets.
– What are some ways to shake out the important epiphanies at an early enough stage?”

Join us next week, when we speak with Kate Rutter, a Senior Practitioner at Adaptive path, who will be speaking on EVALUATING YOUR CURRENT WEB SITE.

Learn more about Henning and Adaptive Path on their web site.
Henning Fischer’s bio: www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus/henning.php
About Adaptive Path: www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus

JERRY MAGUIRE’S MISSION STATEMENT
The things we think and do not say: thoughts of a sports attorney

Special thanks to Henning and Adaptive Path for providing such great information!